​​​​​​​The DeSoto County Historical Society, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of DeSoto County, Florida for future generations. The Howard and Velma Melton Historical Research Library is now open in the John Morgan Ingraham Seed House, 120 W. Whidden Street, Arcadia, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays (except the second Thursday of the month) and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month. The Research Library includes historic photographs, newspaper articles, letters, receipts, family histories, and many other documents. Open to the public is the adjacent John Morgan Ingraham House Museum, 300 N. Monroe Avenue, Arcadia. This restored, late 19th century home is a memorial to all early pioneer families of the City of Arcadia and DeSoto County. It showcases a simple kind of "Florida Cracker" architecture and lifestyle and includes furniture and artifacts from that period. Welcome to our home on the web, and we hope you will stay a while and learn a bit about the past of this county that we call home.​

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To celebrate the anniversary of Arcadia’s incorporation as a town on Dec. 6, 1886, the DeSoto County Historical Society is proud to collaborate with South Florida State College to provide an online, mobile-friendly, self-guided walking tour of the historic downtown.

“Although our main campus is in Highlands County, the college has a DeSoto County campus with a branch library” College Librarian Claire A. Miller said. “People have always sought history in libraries—especially local history—so it makes sense for the college library to make this information accessible.”

The tour includes Google map directions and GPS coordinates as well as analog maps. “We’ve combined historic information with digital technology,” said Miller. “We’ve mixed the old and the new.”

A QR or Quick Response Code—that can be scanned like a UPC by a cell phone or other mobile device—will help people find and use the tour. The QR Code will be posted throughout downtown Arcadia.

Although the first pioneers settled what is now Arcadia in 1856, they did not apply for a post office until 1883. Settlement grew on the banks of Peace River because it served as the main means of transportation.

About a mile east of the river, the Florida Southern Railway laid tracks (now the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 17), and the first train arrived on March 4, 1886. Banks, offices, and shops were constructed near the train depot, and stores on the riverbank moved “uptown.” The 1911 train depot, today a store front, is one of the first stops on the walking tour.

In 1901, the City of Arcadia was incorporated, and on Thanksgiving Day, November 30, 1905, fire destroyed the business district. Businessmen agreed that all future construction must be block or brick, and so the handsome masonry commercial buildings standing today were built from 1906 to 1926—plus the three buildings that survived the fire.

The Arcadia Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and thanks to the Society and the Peace River Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a Florida Historic Marker about the district was installed in January in the Tree of Knowledge Park, where the tour begins.

As well as showcasing Arcadia’s history, the District is also features specialty stores, boutiques, banks, professional offices, restaurants, and more. Famous for its antique shops and fourth Saturday antique fairs, Arcadia began its revitalization as a Main Street City in 1985.

Thanks to the College and the Historical Society, people may easily learn about the town, its history, and its historic commercial structures by accessing the online self-guided walking tour: http://libguides.southflorida.edu/florida/desoto_walking_tour.

“The self-guided walking tour allows people to “read” the downtown buildings like a history book,” said Carol Mahler, volunteer coordinator of the Society’s Research Library and Museum in Arcadia. “If only those buildings could talk,” she said. “I bet they’d have some tales to tell.”

The Historical Society will provide hour-long guided walking tours of historic Arcadia, Florida, for your group for a donation of $5.00 per person. If you want to “make a day of it,” we can arrange for lunch for your group at one of our local restaurants for an additional charge. Then you’ll have time to browse in Arcadia’s many antique shops and specialty boutiques. click here for Self Guided Tour Map.

Thanks to Librarian Claire A. Miller and Carol Mahler, the Society now has an online, mobile-friendly, self-guided walking tour of historic Arcadia Florida. As of June 25, it had been viewed 685 times!

The tour is hosted by South Florida State College at http://libguides.southflorida.edu/florida/desoto_walking_tour

The DeSoto County Historical Society’s next monthly meeting will be on February 14th Family Service Center Annexcorner of N. Orange Ave. & Effie Street.

Lunch for $7. at 11:30 will be Publix chicken tenders, potato chips, and salad, plus desserts and drinks.

Program:James Faison, president of the HCW Foundation, will be our speaker for the February meeting. He will talk about the Smith-Brown School and how collecting and preserving the history of that "separate but equal" school for African Americans in Arcadia is an important part of the HCW mission.​​

DeSoto County Historical Society (EIN 85-8013127211C-7). We are a State of Florida Nonprofit Charitable Corporation authorized to solicit funds within the State of Florida. DeSoto County Historical Society holds Public Charity Status with the IRS as a 501-c-3 Corporation established May 4, 1990. A copy of the Official Registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free 1-800-435-7352 within the State. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State. Our registration # is CH53049. (No part of your donation goes to pay for salaries or un-related expenses.)

BECOME A MEMBER

​As a member you will receive a monthly newsletter inviting you to our programs and events, our monthly meetings, Pioneer Day festival on the third Saturday in March, Yard Sale fundraiser in November, Annual Scholarship Dinner, and more! Click here for application.​